Manama: Bahrain’s Shiite Jaafari Endowments Department has rejected calls to suspend Friday and congregation prayers on security grounds.
In a statement issued on Friday, the department that oversees matters related to Shiites said the allegations made on social media that there was not enough security around mosques were not true. It stressed that the mosques, community centres and all places of worship were operating normally “under the vigilant eye of the Ministry of Interior servicemen who have been providing both security and comfort”
The department said it has regularly called on all religious figures to avoid involving places of worship for any form of political bickering and partisanship.
The month of Ramadan should be used to boost the levels of spirituality and brotherhood, and not to drive any wedge between Bahraini citizens, the department said.
“Bahrainis should exercise high levels of caution and be fully aware of the true nature of the suspicious calls being made to disturb the spirituality and piety of Ramadan, the holy month in which Muslims are urged to increase all manifestations of faith in the mosques and build on them to promote goodness in our communities and to instill noble values and ideals in the hearts of their members,” the statement said.
“Under such a spirit, they should not heed the tendentious and offensive calls made on the social media not to perform congregational and Friday prayers in mosques.
“The most important allegation used in the suspicious call for the boycott of group prayers is the absence of security. This is a sheer lie and utter nonsense that is easily belied by the facts on the ground,” it said.
The department said it has repeatedly stressed the necessity to distance places of worship, such as mosques and community centres, from political bickering and politicised partisanship in all their forms and manifestations.
“The department still insists on the significance of this separation and reiterates the pledge that it will not spare any effort to confront and prosecute anyone who is tempted to prejudice the sanctity of the places of worship or to compromise their safety,” the statement carried by Bahrain News Agency (BNA) said.
“The department reaffirms its call to mosque imams and preachers to abide by the ethics of religious discourse and counselling to achieve further goodness, and to avoid all forms of incitement and agitation as well as all speeches that deepen politicising and compound partisanship. The imams and preachers should maintain the sanctity of religious sermons and speeches in order to reinforce their leading role in promoting national cohesion, fostering the spirit of religious and national brotherhood and stressing the aspects of peaceful coexistence among all components of society, especially as we are blissfully imbibed with the spirit of the auspicious month of Ramadan.”
